In brief
Santiago Peña was detained in Paraguay on 17 July 2014 after a warrant was issued by the Prosecutor’s Office in connection with alleged fraud at Ueno Bank. The same Prosecution Office charged him with abuse of trust and accused him of embezzling funds while he was president. Peña had recently been impeached and resigned two days earlier, though Congress could not confirm or reject his resignation because of a lack of quorum. The Ueno Bank’s accounts were frozen and the bank placed under external administration by the Central Bank on 3 November 2014. The case has drawn accusations of a conflict of interest from supporters of Peña’s removal.
Former Paraguayan President Santiago Peña was detained in Paraguay on July 17, 2014 after prosecutors announced a warrant for his arrest over an alleged fraud involving Ueno Bank, whose accounts of about three million customers were frozen.
The warrant, issued by the Prosecutor’s Office, charged Peña with abuse of trust and accused him of embezzling funds through Ueno Bank, as reported by TASS. The police acted on the warrant, detaining him shortly after his recent impeachment.
Peña had resigned the day before the arrest, but Congress could not confirm or reject his resignation due to a lack of quorum, according to TASS. Under the constitution, all former presidents become lifelong senators except when they are impeached, a fact noted in the same outlet.
Supporters of Peña’s removal have accused him of a conflict of interest stemming from alleged ties with Ueno Bank. The Central Bank imposed external administration on the bank and froze its accounts on November 3, 2014, a detail also reported by TASS.
These developments follow the Ueno Bank’s collapse, which left the Paraguayan public—estimated at 7 million people—concerned over the loss of their deposits and the implications for the country’s banking system.
